Naruto: Sasuke's return

[Chapter Size: 1300 Words.]

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Sasuke, Orochimaru, and Kabuto, three figures moving through the shadows, arrived at an abandoned underground facility, hidden beyond the Valley of the End.

Orochimaru spoke, his voice laced with intrigue. "After the battle at the Valley of the End, the Second Hokage secretly constructed this underground facility without informing the First Hokage. Its sole purpose was to conceal Madara's body. But after Madara escaped using Izanagi, this place was abandoned. It's the perfect site for our ritual."

Sasuke handed the mask to Kabuto and instructed him. "You've seen the procedure in my genjutsu."

Kabuto hesitated, gripping the mask tightly. "Lord Orochimaru, I still don't trust Sasuke. Please, let me be the Shinigami's sacrifice instead. If you fail, you'll remain unharmed. If you succeed, you'll reclaim your soul, just as you desire. The only price to pay is my life!"

Orochimaru's expression turned serious. "Kabuto, your loyalty is commendable, but this ritual was not initiated by me personally. You'll understand why soon enough."

Kabuto remained firm. "I know you possess knowledge from a future version of yourself, knowledge that doesn't exist in this era. But how can you be sure that your future self is 'real'? What if this is a deception crafted by Sasuke-kun? Or worse, what if Sasuke-kun himself is under the control of some unknown entity? Can you completely rule out that possibility?"

His caution was extreme, but when it came to Orochimaru's safety, Kabuto had to be thorough.

In fact, if necessary, he was even prepared to destroy the mask. At the very least, that would prevent Orochimaru from taking an unnecessary risk.

Orochimaru, ever the cunning strategist, didn't dismiss Kabuto's doubts. Instead, he smirked. "Even so, my curiosity compels me to seek the truth for myself. Even if it costs me my life, I am willing."

Kabuto insisted once more. "In that case… allow me to satisfy Lord Orochimaru's curiosity with my life!"

Orochimaru offered no further explanation. Instead, with an uncharacteristically warm smile, he spoke words that struck deep into Kabuto's heart.

"Let me put it another way. Kabuto, your life is far more precious to me than the answer itself. Do you understand?"

Kabuto's eyes welled up with tears. "Lord Orochimaru… I… how could I possibly be worthy of such words?"

Orochimaru simply smiled. "Now, will you assist me?"

Kabuto removed his glasses, wiped his tears, and cleared the fog from his lenses. Placing them back on his nose, he took a deep breath, then stepped forward solemnly.

"If you fail, I will follow you to the underworld!"

With unwavering resolve, he personally placed the mask on Orochimaru, beginning the ritual to summon the Shinigami.

Just as before, Orochimaru channeled all the chakra within his body.

"BOOM!!"

A violent white storm erupted as the Shinigami manifested behind Orochimaru.

Kabuto gasped. "T-This is the Shinigami!!!"

Orochimaru remained unfazed. "Let's begin, Kabuto."

Kabuto clenched his teeth and handed Orochimaru a kunai. He guided Orochimaru's arm, helping him drive the blade into his own abdomen. At the same time, the Shinigami mirrored the motion, its spectral blade slicing into its own stomach.

Orochimaru explained, "Unlike before, this time, I only need to release my hands from the Shinigami's stomach. A small opening, just large enough to allow the passage of my soul, is all that's required."

Kabuto's eyes widened in realization. "So… it's a minimally invasive method?"

"Whoosh!"

From the small wound in the Shinigami's abdomen, a faint glow emerged. Orochimaru's severed soul, long trapped within the spectral entity, flowed out like streams of light, surging back into his arms.

His soul was whole once more.

Sasuke clenched his fists, his gaze lowered. "The size of the wound is irrelevant. The price for undoing the Shiki Fūjin is the soul of the practitioner. Orochimaru once escaped by using Living Corpse Reincarnation, but this time, that technique is no longer an option. In other words, the real highlight is about to begin."

"Heh… Hehehehe…"

A sinister chuckle echoed.

The Shinigami, its grotesque visage twisted in amusement, reached forward, its hand phasing through the rosary as it prepared to claim Orochimaru's soul!

Orochimaru: "Kabuto, fall back, now!"

Kabuto leaped to Sasuke's side, his expression tense.

But Orochimaru only grinned, raising his hands into a sequence of never-before-seen hand seals.

Forbidden Jutsu: Soul Concealment Technique

Whoosh!

The Shinigami's soul-consuming grasp stopped mid-air. For the first time, a look of confusion flickered across its monstrous face.

Kabuto was stunned. "L-Lord Orochimaru… what did you just do!?"

Orochimaru smirked. "The Soul Concealment Technique is a jutsu that allows me to hide my soul from detection. Since the Shinigami cannot locate my soul, it cannot take it as a sacrifice."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Now, if you remove the mask and dispel the Shinigami, everything will be resolved, right?"

Orochimaru's lips curled into a sinister smile. "That would be acceptable, but it wouldn't satisfy me."

"Whoosh!"

His long hair whipped through the air as he continued forming intricate hand seals.

Sasuke's expression sharpened. "What else are you planning!?"

Orochimaru's eyes gleamed. "Hiding my soul wasn't to avoid the Shinigami's sacrifice. It was to set the stage for what comes next!"

Sasuke's realization hit like a thunderclap. "Wait, don't tell me!!"

Orochimaru's final hand seal dropped.

"Yes. This is a sealing jutsu designed specifically to imprison the Shinigami. Behold, Six Coffin Seal of the Reaper!"

A tremendous suction force erupted from Orochimaru's body!

"CRACK!"

"CRACK!"

The mask on his face began to fracture.

The Shinigami, sensing the impending doom, struggled to sever its connection to the ritual. But it was too late.

Its spectral form twisted and howled as it was drawn, slowly but inevitably, into Orochimaru's body!

"L-Lord Orochimaru…!" Kabuto was utterly dumbfounded.

Sasuke, having seen much of the world, wasn't as shaken, but what he sensed unsettled him.

"By my knowledge, Orochimaru's research should never have reached this point…"

"I lost my will to fight and wandered aimlessly for ten years, yet he continued pushing forward in silence, all so that I could challenge the gods once more?"

Before them, Orochimaru's form changed dramatically.

Symmetrical horns protruded from his head. Ethereal white feathers adorned his body, flickering between reality and illusion. Ancient black seals pulsed on his skin. An old rosary hung around his neck, a blade at his waist, and a mystical bell-like weapon in his grasp. His form resembled a Jinchūriki, yet his chakra was entirely different.

"CRACK!"

The mask shattered completely.

Orochimaru's once-golden snake-like eyes had turned deep gray. A swastika-shaped mark sat upon his forehead.

"Without a doubt, this is the Jinchūriki of the Shinigami."

Orochimaru spoke in a deep, powerful voice: "In this state, I can access all the power of the Shinigami, including the powers of the four Hokages within the Shinigami's body. Kabuto, are you now willing to trust Sasuke-kun?"

Having witnessed such a miracle with his own eyes, how could Kabuto still harbor doubts?

He adjusted his glasses and bowed respectfully. "From now on, I am willing to use everything I have, alongside Lord Orochimaru, to help Sasuke achieve his goal!"

Sasuke stepped forward, offering a hand to help Kabuto up. "It will be my pleasure."

Orochimaru, with a mysterious smile, replied: "Sasuke-kun, I will help you take the first step toward becoming an Otsutsuki. This is one of the primary reasons I took control of the Shinigami."

He then grasped the magical weapon with his right hand, extended his left arm, and from under the sleeves of his haori, a ghostly white snake emerged, biting Sasuke's neck.

"I want to transfer all of Hashirama Senju's chakra to you. Given that your body is only thirteen years old, it's impossible for you to handle this power all at once. Therefore…"

Orochimaru smiled with a hint of malice. "There is no better way than to rely on the 'cursed seal'"

As Hashirama Senju's chakra flowed, the black cursed seal gradually transformed into a pure white seal.

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